A Very Typical Family by Sierra Godfrey

Author:Sierra Godfrey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2022-07-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The gala was in full swing when Natalie pulled into the parking lot of the lab’s visitor center. She had hoped Asier would text her once Jake arrived, but so far there had been nothing. She felt like she was arriving in a pumpkin carriage, except her gourd was an aging Hyundai with muffler issues. Multicolored lights set the center aglow. Jacketed waiters moved around inside, offering glasses of champagne to people in formal wear. She crossed her fingers that Jake was one of them.

Natalie moved as though tiptoeing on ice. Tonight was the night, and hopefully she’d have one of the missing persons back. She just needed her grandmother’s heels to hold up. She was afraid they’d snap partway to the door. The dress, however, was every bit as stunning as when she’d tried it on in Michelle’s shop.

“Whoa,” Lynn had said when she’d come down the stairs—in a not-unkind tone. “Holy guacamole.”

“I’m going so I can see Jake,” Natalie had said.

“If you say so,” Lynn had said. “He’ll show up when he’s ready though.”

“Apparently he’ll be ready tonight, according to his colleagues.”

“As are you,” Lynn had said, which Natalie hadn’t been sure how to take.

She teetered to the door of the visitor center, where a bow-tied young man with an iPad was checking in guests.

“Natalie Walker,” she told him, half fearing that Dr. Berkhower had forgotten to put her name in.

But the young man tapped and nodded. “Here you are. Have a wonderful time, Miss Walker.”

She hesitated. “Did—has Dr. Walker checked in yet?”

The man pursed his lips as he scanned the list. “Not yet.”

She passed through the doors into the lobby, which was lit up with undulating blue and green lights designed to look like light under the sea. Flutes of wine and champagne bobbed in every direction, and the chatter of voices echoed off every surface.

Natalie headed for the bar. Alcoholic fortification was necessary.

“Wine, champagne, or our signature gala cocktail?” the bartender asked.

“What’s the signature gala cocktail?”

The bartender held up a sea otter–shaped glass full of blue liquid and topped with a ridiculous amount of fruit and little umbrellas.

“That, of course,” Natalie said.

“I love them too,” someone said beside her.

Her heart leaped out of her chest, and she turned, half expecting to see Jake, but the person at her side was no one she knew. He was a tall, gangly man with too-short bangs.

“I’m Derrick.” He smiled, displaying a truly shocking mouthful of teeth.

“Natalie.” She accepted the sea otter cocktail from the bartender and turned to scan the crowd, which was already considerable. The cocktail tasted like mango and lemon and mint and was lovely.

“It’s really pretty in here, isn’t it?” Derrick asked.

“Yep. Have you tried the food?” she asked, although she didn’t really care about the food.

“Yeah. It’s good. Did you see the red GTO outside? That’s mine. Just bought it. Got a raise. I work with mollusks.” He didn’t bother hiding a gaze that dragged from her toes to her breasts, lingering a beat too long on her chest.

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